Type 2 Leg cramps below knee

Could be a sodium thing or a statin thing...

res1492 said:

Can this be pinned down to dehydration or a diet thing or high BG

Click to expand...

I used to get a lot of cramps in the lower legs years ago, a lot of them were from not enough electrolytes. I put extra salt on my food, and I drank a lot of staminade.

I have not had any cramps for a long time now, and I have not missed them either.

@res1492

Could well be electrolyte imbalances. I used to get similar, almost every night. For me supplementing with magnesium bisglycinate (that formula is better absorbed than many others) and potassium has really helped. Get cramps far less often. Also be sure to stay hydrated.

Crimmeny I get this myself as well so thanks for the advice all!

I also used to get a lot of lower leg/ankle cramps, however this was back when I was unknowingly suffering from malnutrition due to my undiagnosed coeliac disease, I get cramp a lot less when I stopped eating gluten cos it meant I was getting most of the nutrients I needed

When I got foot cramps at night in the early days of low carbing I used magnesium spray before I went to bed. It’s an easy way for the body to absorb magnesium. At the same time I switched to using pink Himalayan salt (it contains potassium and magnesium as well as sodium) in my cooking. The spray got rid of the cramps fairly quickly and subsequently I stopped using it and keep the cramps away with just the pink salt.

res1492 said:

are sugar-free sports drinks ok to replace electrolytes or do they contain carbs?

Click to expand...

Staminade has about 15 grams / 100 of carbs, as I said before it helped get rid of cramps at night. So you make a snap judgement cramps or no cramps.

res1492 said:

Im starting to worry how much all this low carb food is going to cost, I'm on my own and don't have much money left after the bills go out

Click to expand...

Low carb food is no dearer than high carb food, I have found.

res1492 said:

hello...i haven't started the statins yet.... I only got diag'ed today....the cramps have been happening for the past 2 weeks or so...are sugar-free sports drinks ok to replace electrolytes or do they contain carbs?
I'm sorry I know these are entry level questions but I don't have a clue what I'm doing...im getting headaches too, do you think its all related?
Im starting to worry how much all this low carb food is going to cost, I'm on my own and don't have much money left after the bills go out....................ok totally oversharing here...this post is all over the place.

lol..

Click to expand...

Ask as many questions as you like and share as much or as little as you like. You are among freinds here.

The sports drinks are overpriced and overrated in my opinion. You could do just as well by adding in a little more salt to your food. Because processed foods contain a lot of salt when we change to a diet of whole fresh foods we can sometimes suffer a lack of sodium. The headaches could be dehydration so make sure you're drinking enough. If either of these symptomes persist make sure you see a health care professional.

Low carb doesn't have to be expensive, I have managed to tweak a lot of my old favourite recipes to leave out the carbs while adding in more nutritious foods. Have a look at the 'What have you eaten today' thread for ideas, it is very popular.